Sterkstokers

Thomas Cuyvers, the founder of a local distillery contacted me because he wanted to professionalise his fast-growing company. To cover a range of his products, I came up with the new, unique and locally recognisable name of “Sterkstokers”. The name is a word play between the Dutch word “sterk”, meaning “strong”, and “stokers”, meaning “distillers”. Now, under the collective umbrella of Sterkstokers, all Thomas’ separate products can thrive and succeed at their own pace. We developed a brand new logo, bottle labels, cardboard boxes, car stickers and even the packaging design for the company’s new “Cameo” Vermouth. On top of that, I've elaborated a full marketing- & communication plan, market research and the commercial expansion strategy.

STERKSTOKERS’ FOUNDER, THOMAS CUYVERS

A former yeast trader and a herb-specialist, Thomas, together with his wife Karin, has the rare ability of being able to distil different spirits with exactly the right flavours, including gin, Vermouth, vodka, Genever, Elixir D'Anvers. During the past few years they have successfully launched a bestselling series of branded gins and spirits, for example for soccer teams (Antwerp, Anderlecht, Bruges, Barcelona, Chelsea, ...).

corporate logo

As Thomas introduced more products over the years, the ensuing variety of brands became somewhat confusing for customers. My mission was to position the new brand name in a way that it would be unique and recognisable. Moreover, it had to cover all products while retaining that key, local “Flemish” ambiance. Old names such as “Taxandria Distillaten” and “Distillateur Thomas” were dispensed with and “Sterkstokers” was born.

national press coverage

A few months after the launch of the new name and the specific Antwerp gin, one of Antwerp’s and the country’s biggest newspapers published a centerspread interview with Thomas Cuyvers about his business, products and the new company name Sterkstokers.

The best publicity is free publicity, cheers! :-)

www.sterkstokers.be